Last year we praised New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen for a State of the State Address that was organized almost entirely around the conditions for her state's success in the New Economy. She wasn't kidding. On April 9, she released a new economic development strategy for New Hampshire that shows an impressive understanding of how the New Economy has changed state government's proper role in economic development.

New Hampshire in the New Economy: A Vision for Expanded Prosperity fully commits the Granite State to a very different strategy for economic development than the old industry-by-industry inducements that many states still rely on. It sets out three "overarching" goals for state development efforts:

First, the state must maintain its strong economic position through innovation and through its systems of education and workforce development.

Second, the state must retain its excellent quality of life and quality of place.

Third, economic opportunity must be extended to all individuals and families throughout the state.

This clear focus on innovation, education and skills, quality of life, access to technology, and the overriding goal of higher incomes is exactly the sort of "paradigm shift" required of states in the New Economy. The New Hampshire report adopts most of the specific strategies recommended in the Progressive Policy Institute's State New Economy Index and the just-released Metropolitan New Economy Index, such as business-led public/private partnerships for skills training, identification of global market opportunities, investments in research, an emphasis on creating a business climate that fosters innovation, a push to expand broadband capacity into rural areas, digitization of state government, and support for planning and regional governance.

The New Hampshire plan is all the more remarkable because the state has in the past been something of a throwback in economic development, relying almost solely -- to an extent unseen outside the Deep South -- on low taxes and other business-cost factors as the key to development. Though Gov. Shaheen has continued to stress the need for a lean and low-cost state government, she's made it clear that a passive government that does not fulfill its unique role in the New Economy cannot set the conditions for growth or a high standard of living.

It is clear that New Hampshire "gets it," and has revamped its economic development strategy to meet current and future requirements for economic growth. We urge all our state and local readers to take a look at Gov. Shaheen's new plan, and measure their own by comparison.